Systems and methods of processing undeliverable delivery items

ABSTRACT

Provided herein are processing systems, computer readable media, and methods for processing undeliverable delivery items. A system includes a camera and a hardware processor operably connected to the camera and configured to perform operations that include capturing, using the camera, an image of a delivery item that is undeliverable to an intended recipient or at an intended delivery location, the image including an address of the intended recipient. The operations also include embedding, by the hardware processor, processing data with the image to thereby generate an embedded image as a printable file, the embedded image including the image of the delivery item framed by a template area that includes a reason for the delivery item being undeliverable. The operations also include notifying a sender of the delivery item that the delivery item is undeliverable via a hard copy printout of the embedded image.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/847,269 filed on 13 Apr. 2020, which claims thebenefit of, and priority to, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.62/834,691 filed on 16 Apr. 2019, the entire contents of bothapplications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Note that, herein, the term “mail” may sometimes be employedinterchangeably with “delivery item” or “delivery package”; as usedherein, “mail” may also refer in an exemplary sense to U.S. Postal Mail,and may also refer generically to delivery items delivered by anydelivery service, government or private, including for example andwithout limitation the United States Postal Service (USPS), the UnitedParcel Service (UPS) Corporation, and Federal Express (FedEx)Corporation. The terms “tangible mail,” “item of tangible mail,”“delivery item,” “tangible item,” “delivery package”, “package,” andsimply “item” are used interchangeably herein, referring generically todeliverable printed matter, packages, and packaged materials transportedby delivery services (government or private).

Delivery of tangible items generally entails placing an item in somemanner of box, wrapping, or container, and placing on the exterior ofthe container one or more labels or delivery indicia. The indiciatypically indicate a sender and a recipient, and often indicatestransport costs such as postage. A tangible item, suitably wrapped andlabeled, or otherwise prepared for transport by a delivery service, maybe referred to herein as a “delivery item” or “package” or “parcel” oras “mail.”

Delivery items may include parcels or packages or flats, such asmagazines, or may include letters contained in envelopes; whentransported by the USPS, such letters, flats and parcels areconventionally referred to as “mail.” It will be understood herein,however, that “mail” is used as a generic term referring to letters andsuch which are transported by non-governmental delivery services, suchas UPS and FedEx, and others.

Delivery items may also include packages and parcels. For purposes ofthis document, the term “delivery items” may also refer to bound bundlesor to trays which are used to deliberately assemble and transportmultiple individual letters, documents, small boxes, etc., as a group,at least as an interim aspect of transport.

With most delivery services, such as USPS, UPS, and FedEx, the processof delivering multiple delivery items to various recipients involvessorting the delivery items to ensure the items are carried (by trucks,airplanes, persons, etc.) along appropriate delivery routes. Handing ofthe delivery items occurs at delivery service processing/sortingfacilities, which are typically physical buildings with suitableinterior equipment and infrastructure to process delivery items. Amongother elements, the processing/sorting facilities may employ extendedconveyor systems to internally route and distribute delivery items alongvarious transport paths. In some cases, within a processing/sortingfacility, some delivery items, such as letters or mail, may betransported along, at least in part, in groups or bundles, for exampleheld in trays which travel on the conveyor systems. These conveyorsystems, including suitable sensors to read delivery item indicia andtray labels, and mechanical elements to distribute and route deliveryitems, may be referred to as Sorting and Material Handling (SMH)systems.

Many delivery items cannot be delivered to the person and/or place towhich they are addressed, for example, because the person does not liveat the address, the person has moved to a different address, the addressis incorrect (e.g., the house number or street name is wrong), the nameor address is illegible, etc. The USPS, for example, annually processesapproximately five billion delivery items that cannot be delivered asaddressed. This mail is classified as undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA)mail. The handling procedures involved with this type of mail includeforwarding, returning to sender, or disposing of the delivery item aswaste mail. Certain types of UAA mail are typically processed throughComputerized Forwarding System (CFS) sites and by the various deliveryunits.

In certain instances, a mailer or sender of a delivery item has notsubscribed to an address correction service provided by the deliveryservice, such as the USPS, and instead uses an on-item instruction, suchas an ancillary service endorsement, which instructs the deliveryservice how to handle its UAA items. The handling typically includes themailing service notifying the mailer that a mail piece was UAA bysending the mailer a conventional hard copy notification (HCN) and/or byreturning the mail piece to the mailer.

A conventional HCN is a handmade paper photocopy of, for example, theUAA mail piece in the cutout portion of a paper or cardstock template.To make the conventional HCN, an employee must leave their workstationwith the UAA mail piece, select the appropriate cardstock template forthat mail piece, (e.g., the template that is printed with theappropriate information corresponding to the endorsement on the mailpiece), place the template on the glass of the copy machine, positionthe UAA mail piece on the glass in the middle of the cutout in thetemplate, make the photocopy, which is the HCN, return the cardstocktemplate to its storage location, and then return to their workstationwith the UAA mail piece and the HCN.

The completed conventional HCN is then mailed to the sender to informthe sender that the address is invalid. Depending on the template usedand the text on the UAA mail piece, (e.g., on a yellow change-of-addressor undeliverable-as-addressed “nixie” label attached to it), the HCNphotocopy may include text or other information indicating theaddressee's new address and/or the reason why the mail piece could notbe delivered.

In recent years, the volume of such conventional HCNs processed by theUSPS alone has exceeded five million mail pieces and consumed largeamounts of employee work hours. Accordingly, what is desirable, then,are systems, devices, and related methods to supplement, complement,make more efficient, or enhance the handling of undeliverable mail andrelated notification processes.

SUMMARY

This application discloses systems, computer-readable media, and relatedmethods for processing undeliverable delivery items, including relatednotification processes. In one aspect, for example, this disclosureprovides a processing system that includes a camera that is arranged tocapture an image of a delivery item and a hardware processor that isoperably connected to the camera. The hardware processor is configuredto perform operations comprising: capturing, using the camera, an imageof a delivery item that is undeliverable to an intended recipient or atan intended delivery location, where the image includes an address ofthe intended recipient; embedding, by the hardware processor, processingdata with the image of the delivery item to thereby generate an embeddedimage as a printable file, the embedded image including the image of thedelivery item framed by a template area that includes a reason for thedelivery item being undeliverable; and notifying a sender of thedelivery item, via a hard copy printout of the embedded image, that thedelivery item is undeliverable using the embedded image.

In certain embodiments, capturing, using the camera, the image of thedelivery item that is undeliverable comprises activating the cameraafter the delivery item is manually positioned to face the camera. Insome embodiments, notifying the sender of the delivery item that thedelivery item is undeliverable comprises electronically transmitting theembedded image to the sender. In certain embodiments, the processingsystem further includes a printer that is operably connected to thehardware processor. In these embodiments, the operations typicallyfurther include printing, by the printer, the embedded image to generatea printed embedded image. Optionally, notifying the sender of thedelivery item that the delivery item is undeliverable sending theprinted embedded image to the sender. In some embodiments, theprocessing data comprises temporary delivery location information orupdated delivery location information.

In another aspect, this disclosure provides a computer-readable,non-transitory storage medium storing instructions that, when executedby a hardware processor of a computing system, cause the hardwareprocessor to execute a method of processing a delivery item. The methodcomprises capturing an image of a delivery item received from a camerathat is operably connected to the computing system. The delivery item isundeliverable to an intended recipient or at an intended deliverylocation, where the image includes an address of the intended recipient.The method also comprises embedding, by the hardware processor,processing data with the image of the delivery item to thereby generatean embedded image as a printable file, the embedded image including theimage of the delivery item framed by a template area that includes areason for the delivery item being undeliverable. In addition, themethod also includes notifying a sender of the delivery item, via a hardcopy printout of the embedded image, that the delivery item isundeliverable.

In certain embodiments, capturing the image of the delivery itemreceived from the camera comprises activating the camera after thedelivery item is manually positioned to face the camera. In someembodiments, the method further comprises printing the printable filevia a printer that is operably connected to the hardware processor togenerate the hard copy printout of the embedded image. In certain ofthese embodiments, notifying the sender of the delivery item furthercomprises sending the printed embedded image to the sender to therebynotify the sender that the delivery item is undeliverable. In someembodiments, notifying the sender of the delivery item that the deliveryitem is undeliverable comprises electronically transmitting the embeddedimage to the sender. In certain of these embodiments, the processingdata comprises temporary delivery location information or updateddelivery location information included in the template area.

In yet another aspect, the disclosure provides a method of processing adelivery item using a processing station comprising a computer and acamera that is operably connected to the computer. The method comprisescapturing an image of the delivery item with the camera. The deliveryitem is undeliverable to an intended recipient or at an intendeddelivery location. The method also includes embedding, by the computer,processing data with the image of the delivery item to thereby generatean embedded image as a printable file, the embedded image including theimage of the delivery item framed by a template area that includes areason for the delivery item being undeliverable; notifying a sender ofthe delivery item, via a hard copy printout of the embedded image, thatthe delivery item is undeliverable; and directing the delivery item toan alternative location other than the intended delivery location.

In certain embodiments, capturing the image of the delivery item withthe camera comprises activating the camera after the delivery item ismanually positioned to face the camera. In some embodiments, the methodfurther includes identifying that the delivery item is undeliverable asaddressed. In certain embodiments, the method includes identifying thatthe delivery item is undeliverable as addressed. Optionally, identifyingthat the delivery item is undeliverable as addressed comprisesdetermining that the image of the delivery item includes erroneousinformation about the intended recipient or the intended deliverylocation. In certain of these embodiments, the method further comprisesprinting the embedded image to thereby generate the hard copy printoutof the embedded image.

In certain embodiments, the alternative location comprises a locationfrom a group consisting of: a waste location, a temporary deliverylocation, or an updated delivery location. In certain of theseembodiments, the method also includes notifying the sender of thetemporary delivery location or the updated delivery location.

The foregoing illustrative summary, as well as other exemplaryobjectives and/or advantages of this disclosure, and the manner in whichthe same are accomplished, as well as additional or alternative featuresor embodiments, are further explained within the following detaileddescription and its accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is an illustration of an example of an embedded image fornotifying a sender regarding a UAA delivery item (shown as a letter)that is to be sent to a forwarding address, according to one exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 1B is an illustration of an example of an embedded image fornotifying a sender regarding a UAA delivery item (shown as a letter)that is to be sent to a return address, according to one exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 1C is an illustration of an example of an embedded image fornotifying a sender regarding a UAA delivery item (shown as a periodical)that is to be sent to a forwarding address, according to one exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 1D is an illustration of an example of an embedded image fornotifying a sender regarding a UAA delivery item (shown as a periodical)that is to be sent to a return address, according to one exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a mail processing systemaccording to one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a method of processing undeliverabledelivery items according to one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 depicts an example of a flats forwarding terminal (FFT) assemblythat includes a camera to capture images of undeliverable delivery itemsaccording to one exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a system that can be used inprocessing undeliverable delivery items according to one exemplaryembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, certain specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments.However, one skilled in the art will understand that the invention maybe practiced without these details. In other instances, well-knownstructures associated with computers or with robotic systems, conveyorsystems, cameras, photo-detection, wired or wireless communications,with other digital devices, with data display, and/or with data storageor data transmission, have not been shown or described in detail toavoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the embodiments.

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification andclaims which follow, the word “comprise” and variations thereof, suchas, “comprises” and “comprising” are to be construed in an open sense,that is, as “including, but not limited to.”

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “anembodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or“in an embodiment” in various places throughout this specification arenot necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, theparticular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined inany suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do notinterpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claimed invention.

Reference Numbers: Reference numbers are used throughout the figures,and the first digit of a reference number generally indicates the firstdrawing where the associated element appears. For example, an element206 first appears in FIG. 2.

Terms

Hard Copy Notification System: Herein, the present system and method maybe characterized at points in terms of a representative or exemplarysystem being developed by the United States Postal Service (USPS), andreferred to as the USPS mail Undeliverable-As-Addressed (UAA) processingsystem or Hard Copy Notification (HCN) system.

It will be understood, however, that this system, as well as the termUndeliverable-As-Addressed processing system and the acronym “UAAprocessing system” or Hard Copy Notification system and the acronym “HCNsystem” refer to an exemplary embodiment only. The present system andmethod encompasses other processing systems as yet undeveloped or to bedeveloped, which employ substantially the same elements and/or methodsteps, which may be designed or developed by parties other than theUSPS, and which may be referred to by terms other thanUndeliverable-As-Addressed processing system, UAA processing system,Hard Copy Notification system, HCN system, or the like.

Delivery Item: As used in this document, a delivery item or tangibledelivery item generally refers to a portable, usually hand-deliverablephysical item with a container or wrapper around it, the container orwrapper having imprinted on it or on a label (or otherwise conveying)necessary information (e.g., name and address) for conveyance of thephysical item from a sender to a recipient. In some instances theexterior wrapping may be omitted, as for example with a postcard or abrochure with suitable tape to close the brochure, where the card orsealed brochure itself is the physical item and has suitable labelingdirectly imprinted or attached.

The physical item may include for example and without limitation paperor papers, printed matter, or various tangible products or items to bephysically transported from an item sender to an item recipient via anitem delivery service, often entailing hand transport and delivery alongat least part of the route. For example without limitation, any of aparcel, a package, a letter, a document, a magazine, a brochure, apamphlet, a book, a cell phone, a child's toy, or a diamond ring,suitably contained or wrapped and labeled for transport, would all beexamples of delivery items.

The term delivery item also typically encompasses printed matter orother indicia (for example, postal stamps of the U.S. Post Office orother national postal services, or bar codes employed by both postalservices and private delivery companies) which may indicate, among otherelements, payment of tangible item transport costs.

Delivery Service: A delivery service is any organization, governmentalor private, which transports tangible items from a specific sender to aspecified recipient. Such delivery services include for example andwithout limitation the U.S. Postal Service, other national postalservices, UPS, and FedEx, as already enumerated above. Any referencesherein to the United States Postal Service will therefore be understoodas exemplary only, and not limiting.

Methods and Systems to Process UAA

A delivery item, such as mail, that cannot be delivered as addressed istypically classified as undeliverable-as-addressed (UAA). A sender ormailer can request to receive address corrections for any UAA mailpieces using, for example, a mail barcode. Additional details regardingUAA and barcodes that are optionally adapted for use with the methodsand systems of the present disclosure are described, for example, inU.S. Pat. No. 8,598,482, which is incorporated by reference in itsentirety for all purposes. In addition, mailers (the sender of the mailpiece) can also instruct the mailing service regarding how it wants itsUAA mail pieces to be handled. For example, the mailer can indicate thatany UAA mail pieces should be forwarded to the addressee's new address(if possible), returned to the sender, or treated as waste and disposedof by the mailing service.

In certain embodiments, different delivery classes, e.g., mail classes,have different “default” treatments for UAA mail, which may beimplemented when there are instructions from the mailer. Within theFirst-Class Mail class, for example, the “default” treatment for a mailpiece that cannot be delivered is for the mail piece to be eitherforwarded or returned to the mailer (“return to sender”). In thePeriodicals class, the “default” treatment of UAA mail is to forwardmail pieces for the first 60 calendar days following an addressee's movedate and dispose of all other UAA mail pieces as waste. For StandardMail and Bound Printed Matter, which are low-cost classes, the “default”treatment of UAA mail is to dispose of the mail piece as waste.

Mailers can instruct the mailing service to handle UAA mail pieces in amanner different than the default treatment provided for the class ofmail. For example, First-Class Mail mailers can tell the mailing serviceto dispose of UAA mail pieces rather than forwarding or returning themail pieces. Standard Mail mailers can indicate their desire to have UAAmail that can be forwarded sent to the addressee's new address and allother UAA mail disposed of as waste.

In one embodiment, a sender instructs the delivery service of its intentto have its UAA items treated in a manner different than the defaulttreatment by providing instructions on the item, e.g., a USPS ancillaryservice endorsement, that describes how to handle any UAA deliveryitems. In the ancillary service endorsement example, the endorsementsconsist of one string, e.g.: “Electronic,” “Address,” “Return,”“Change,” “Temp-Return” or “Forwarding,” followed by the two words“Service Requested.” In some embodiments, the mailer attaches or printsthe ancillary service endorsement on a mail piece and the mailingservice recognizes the ancillary service endorsement when it processesUAA mail.

In some instances, a mailer has not subscribed to an electronic addresscorrection service provided by the mailing service, which provideselectronic notifications regarding UAA items, yet uses an ancillaryservice endorsement related to UAA items on its mail pieces, such as“Change Service Requested.” In such instances, embodiments consistentwith the present disclosure provide a system, (e.g., a flats forwardingterminal assembly as shown in FIG. 4), that automatically creates animage of the UAA item such that the image is embedded with UAAinformation or processing data that apprises the mailer regarding theUAA item. In various embodiments, embedded image may include a form ofinformation that can be printed out and physically sent to the mailer inorder to notify the mailer that a mail piece was UAA.

More particularly, as shown in the illustration of an example of anembedded image 100 for notifying a sender regarding a UAA delivery itemin FIG. 1A intended for forwarding, the embedded image 100 may includean image (e.g., a digital photo) of the UAA mail piece 104 (shown as aletter) and processing data 110 for the mailer regarding the UAA mailpiece. In the printed-out example shown, the processing data 110 isrepresented as text, and the processing data 110 includes deliveryservice instruction data 110A; fee data 110B; intended recipient data110C (e.g., the addressee's new address); and delivery serviceidentifier data 110D. Other exemplary intended recipient data couldinclude information indicating a temporary delivery location (e.g., theaddressee's vacation address), information indicating the reason why themail piece could not be delivered, etc.

Also as shown in the particular example illustrated in FIG. 1A, theembedded image may include lines to outline a template area 102, whichforms a frame or border around the photo of the UAA mail piece 104, andwhich contains the text information 110. The embedded image may alsoinclude a postage notice area 103. In addition, in some cases, thedigital photo of the UAA mail piece 104 may include a label that is onthe physical mail piece as a result of UAA processing, such as achange-of-address label or an undeliverable-as-addressed label (alsoknown as a nixie label (not shown in FIG. 1A)). The processing systems,computer readable media, and related methods of the present disclosureinvolve capturing images 104 of UAA mail pieces using a camera andembedding those images with appropriate processing data in certainexemplary embodiments. As an additional example, FIG. 1B shows anillustration of an example of an embedded image for notifying a senderregarding a UAA delivery item (shown as a letter) that is to be sent toa return address. As shown, embedded image 101 includes template area112, which forms a frame or border around the photo of the UAA mailpiece 104, and which contains information indicating the reason why themail piece could not be delivered 110E in addition to other processingdata as described herein.

As additional examples, FIGS. 1 C and D show illustrations of exampleembedded images for notifying a sender regarding a UAA delivery item(shown as periodicals) that are to be sent to a forwarding address orreturned to the sender, respectively. More specifically, embedded image109, in the example shown in FIG. 1C, includes template area 113, whichforms a frame or border around the photo of the UAA mail piece 107(including sender and recipient data 105), and which containsinformation indicating the intended recipient data 110C (e.g., theaddressee's new address) in addition to other processing data asdescribed herein. Embedded image 111, in the example shown in FIG. 1D,includes template area 114, which forms a frame or border around thephoto of the UAA mail piece 107 (including sender and recipient data105), and which contains information indicating the reason why the mailpiece could not be delivered 110E in addition to other processing dataas described herein.

To further illustrate, FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating oneembodiment of a mail processing system 200 for UAA mail processing. Themail processing system 200 includes mail pieces 202, a mail processingmodule 224, a general processing module 204, a sorting module 206,candidate UAA mail pieces 208, a UAA processing module 210, an addresscorrection module 212, a mail forwarding module 214, address-correctedmail pieces 216, UAA mail pieces returned to sender 217, UAA mail piecesfor disposal 218, non-UAA mail pieces 220, and a machine-readable (e.g.,computer-readable) medium 222. The mail pieces 202 that have beeninducted into the mail stream are introduced into the mail processingmodule 224 according to one embodiment. The mail pieces 202 includecandidate UAA mail pieces 208 at this point, at the start of theprocessing. In one embodiment, the mail processing module 224 is a mailsorter. The mail pieces 202 are first evaluated at the generalprocessing module 204. The mail pieces next move to the sorting module206. The sorting module 206 may be a letter mail sorter, a flat mailsorter, a mixed mail sorter, a parcel mail sorter, or any other type ofdevice that sorts mail pieces. The non-UAA mail pieces 220 leave thesorter 206 and the mail processing module 224 for final dispositionthrough the mail stream.

In one embodiment, the candidate UAA mail pieces 208 are a subset of themail pieces 202 which are initially identified or suspected to be UAAmail pieces, for example, by a delivery-service employee, such as a mailcarrier. A mail piece 208 may be identified as being a UAA mail piecebecause the individual, family, or business to which it is addressed hasmoved, the address is incomplete, incorrect, or illegible, or a person,such as a mail carrier or the new person who has moved into an address,indicates that the intended recipient of a mail piece 208 is no longerpresent at the indicated recipient address.

The candidate UAA mail pieces 208 move from the sorting module 206 tothe UAA processing module 210 or UAA module. In one embodiment, thecandidate UAA mail pieces 208 are evaluated by the UAA processing module210. For example, the UAA processing module 210 may determine that thereis a valid change-of-address on file for a candidate UAA mail piece 208(e.g., an updated or temporary deliver location for the intendedrecipient), and direct the mail piece 208 to address correctionservices. The addresses of the UAA mail pieces 208 can be corrected(e.g., changed to the updated or temporary delivery location) at theaddress correction module 212 in some embodiments, or, in otherembodiments, at the UAA processing module 210. In some embodiments,address correction notices can also be generated at the addresscorrection module 212 and transmitted to the mailer via themachine-readable medium 222. In another embodiment, address correctionnotices are generated at the UAA processing module 210 and transmittedto the mailer via the machine-readable medium 222.

In some embodiments, the address-corrected mail pieces 216 are directedto the mail forwarding module 214. In various embodiments, the mailforwarding module 214 may generate and transmit a report to the mailerindicating that a mail piece will be or has been forwarded to an updatedor temporary delivery location, such as the addressee's new address ortemporary vacation address. Such mail forwarding reports can include,but are not limited to, destination confirmation services. Theaddress-corrected mail pieces 216 leave the mail forwarding module 214for final disposition through the standard mail stream

If, on the other hand, the UAA processing module 210 determines thatthere is not a valid change-of-address on file for a candidate UAA mailpiece 208, (e.g., there is no valid forwarding address (change ofaddress) or other updated processing information associated with theintended recipient), then the UAA processing module 210 will identifyand process the mail piece 208 as a UAA item. In various embodiments,the UAA processing module 210 may generate a label or sticker thatprovides information regarding why the delivery item 208 is UAA, such asa USPS nixie label, and apply that label to the item. In variousembodiments, the UAA processing module 210 may generate a report thatindicates that the mail piece 208 is undeliverable-as-addressed andtransmit the report to the mailer via the machine-readable medium 222.In some embodiments, these undeliverable-as-addressed reports are callednixie reports.

In various embodiments, the UAA mail processing module 210 may beimplemented using a flats forwarding terminal (FFT) assembly, as shownin FIG. 4. In such implementations, the terminal 400 may generate thelabel for the UAA mail piece 208 and a delivery-service employee mayapply the label by hand, especially if the UAA mail piece 208 is aparcel or a flat. As shown in the example of FIG. 2, the UAA processingmodule 210 may categorize the UAA mail piece 208, for example, accordingto an ancillary service endorsement on the mail piece 208. For instance,if the item includes a “Return Service Requested” or an “Address ServiceRequested” endorsement, then the UAA processing module 210 may determinethat the UAA mail piece should be returned to the sender, (e.g., themailer). The UAA mail pieces returned to sender 217 leave the UAAprocessing module 210 for return to the sender.

For another instance, if the item includes a “Change Service Requested”endorsement, then the UAA processing module 210 may determine that theUAA mail piece should be treated disposed of, either securely or asordinary waste. The UAA mail pieces for disposal 218 leave the UAAprocessing module 210 for disposal. In some cases, some candidate UAAmail pieces 208 are found not to be UAA, because, for example, of amistake by a mail carrier. In these cases, such misidentified candidateUAA mail pieces 208 are typically reintroduced into the delivery processas non-UAA mail pieces 220.

In various implementations consistent with the present disclosure, inaddition to classifying and properly routing the candidate UAA mailpieces 208, the UAA processing module 210 may also generate an embeddedimage 230 for each UAA mail piece 217, 218, which is used to notify(e.g., via U.S. mail, email, etc.) the sender of each mail piece 217,218 that the mail piece 217, 218 is UAA. In some implementations, theembedded image 230 may be in the form of the embedded image 100illustrated in FIG. 1. In various implementations, the embedded image230 may be generated by a computerized work station, such as the flatsforwarding terminal 400 of FIG. 4.

Typically, the status of a given delivery item as being undeliverable asaddressed (e.g., candidate UAA mail pieces 208) is at least tentativelyidentified in, for example, a general processing module 204 and/or asorting module 206 and/or by a delivery employee, such as a mail carrierwho unsuccessfully attempted to deliver a mail piece 208 as addressed.The undeliverable status of the delivery items is generally identifiedby determining that the delivery item includes erroneous information,for example, incorrect information about the intended recipient or theintended delivery location. For example, the erroneous information maybe old, incorrect address information (e.g., the intended deliverylocation) for a recipient that has moved to a new address. As noted, insome cases, the undeliverable status of a delivery item is determined oridentified manually (e.g., by a mail service employee). In other cases,the undeliverable status of a delivery item is determined or identifiedin an automated manner, for example, using a camera or barcode scannerof a general processing module 204 or of a sorting module 206 andanalyzing the addressee information from the image or barcode using adatabase of addresses.

FIG. 3 provides a flowchart illustrating an example of a method 300 ofprocessing UAA delivery items according to one exemplary embodiment. Insome embodiments, the method 300 may be implemented at or by the UAAprocessing module 210. In some particular embodiments, the method 300may be implemented by or using a computerized workstation, such as theflats forwarding terminal 400 of FIG. 4, which may be part of the UAAprocessing module 210. As shown in FIG. 3, the processing method 300starts 302 with capturing an image of the UAA delivery item or mailpiece (e.g., UAA mail pieces 208, 217, 218) using a camera or the likethat is operably connected to a hardware processor of a computingsystem, in operation 304. In various implementations, the image may be adigital image that shows a view of a side or surface of the deliveryitem that includes the name and address of the intended recipient (e.g.,the addressee, the intended delivery location) and/or that includes abar code and/or an ancillary service endorsement that are on the UAAdelivery item and/or that includes an undeliverable-as-addressed label105 (e.g., a nixie label) that was affixed to the delivery item.

At operation 306, the method 300 adds, includes, combines, or otherwiseembeds processing data in or with the image of the delivery item tothereby generate an embedded image, which may be done using the hardwareprocessor. In various implementations, the processing data may be orinclude attributes, such as mail piece classes, ancillary endorsements,participant IDs, keylines, service type identifiers (STIDs), servicetype codes (STCs), mailer IDs, serial numbers, reasons for UAA status(reason data, such as deceased, no mail receptacle, refused, temporarilyaway, vacant, addressee not known, insufficient address, no such number,no such street, unable to forward, undeliverable as addressed,unclaimed, etc.), postages due or fee data, prior addresses, newaddresses, forwarding addresses, recipient names, return to sendernames, return to sender addresses, delivery service instruction data,warning data, delivery service identifier data, and/or the like. Invarious embodiments, the embedded image may be implemented as a digitalfile that includes the image captured in operation 304 and theprocessing data. In some implementations, some or all of the processingdata may be represented in the form of human-readable characters (e.g.,text, letters, and numbers) representing, showing, or indicating theprocessing data, such as words indicating forwarding addresses, returnto sender names, return to sender addresses, postages due, and/or thelike. In such implementations, the embedded-image digital file may beprintable file that is formatted to fit on a standard piece of paper(e.g., 8½×11 inches), such as a tagged image file format (TIFF) file, ajoint photographic experts group (JPEG) file, a portable document format(PDF) file, or the like. A printed-out example of such an embedded-imagedigital file is shown in FIG. 1. In some implementations, some or all ofthe processing data may alternatively or additionally be represented inthe form of digital data in the embedded image file, which data is readby a computer application that receives and processes the embedded imagefile, for example, at the sender's location.

The processing data can come from essentially any source. Typically, theprocessing data is retrieved from a barcode, QR code, or other optical,machine-readable representation of that data associated with thesender's previously stored account when the image of the undeliverabledelivery item is captured in operation 304 or scanned beforehand afterthe delivery item is identified as undeliverable. In other exemplaryembodiments, the processing data is manually input into the computersystem by the delivery service based upon human-readable characters onthe delivery item after it is identified as undeliverable. Moreover, theprocessing data can be in essentially any form including, for example,an image of a forwarding address, digital character data,optical-character-recognition output, and/or the like.

At 308, the method 300 further includes notifying a sender or mailerthat sent the UAA delivery item regarding the undeliverable (UAA) statusof the delivery item, using the embedded image. In some embodiments, themailer is notified of the UAA status using a hard copy print out of theembedded image (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1), which is physically sent tothe mailer (or to a proxy for the mailer, such as the postmaster of themailer's delivery unit, in a USPS example). In other embodiments, theembedded image is electronically transmitted to the sender (e.g., via anemail communication, a sender portal, or the like) to notify the senderof the UAA status of the delivery item. In various embodiments, theprocessing data is or includes information specifying a temporarydelivery location (e.g., a post office (PO) box or the like), an updateddelivery location (e.g., a new address for the intended recipient),disposal of the delivery item, or the like, and the sender of thedelivery items is notified of the temporary delivery location, theupdated delivery location, or other disposition for the delivery itemvia the processing information in the embedded image.

At operation 310, prior to ending 312, the method 300 directs the UAAdelivery item to an alternative location other than the intendeddelivery location, such as being returned to the sender, forwarded to acorrected address (e.g., a temporary delivery location, an updateddelivery location for the addressee, or the like), or disposed of aswaste at a waste location, as described further herein. In someembodiments, method 300 may further include receiving payment from thesender to notify the sender and/or to send the delivery item to thetemporary delivery location, the updated delivery location, or tootherwise process the delivery item sent by the sender (not shown inFIG. 3).

An exemplary flats forwarding terminal (FFT) 400 is illustrated in FIG.4. As noted above, in some embodiments, the FFT 400 may be used toimplement the UAA mail processing 210 of FIG. 2 and/or the method 300 ofFIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 4, this example of the FFT 400 includes a desk402, and a rack or platform 404 that can hold a deliver item (e.g., amagazine or other flat) or a container of delivery items, such as aflats tub or mail tray. The FFT 400 also includes an articulating arm412 that includes another platform or work area for holding deliveryitems and the like. As shown, the FFT 400 also includes a monitor 408, akeyboard 410, a barcode scanner 414, and a label printer 416, which areoperably connected to a hardware processor (e.g. of a computingsystem(s), not shown in this view).

In addition, the FFT 400 includes a camera 406 that is positioned orpositionable over the desktop or other platform or work area so as todigitally photograph delivery items, and that is operably connected tothe hardware processor of a computing system (not shown in this view).The hardware processor performs methods, operations, and functions asdescribed herein, e.g., by executing a computer program product thatreceives and stores the images of the delivery items (e.g., UAA mailpieces 208, 217, 218) captured by the camera 406 and adds, combines,embeds or otherwise associates relevant processing data with or into theimages of the mail items to produce or generate embedded images (e.g.,embedded image 230). In an example of usage, a person, such as adelivery service employee, may manually place or position the UAA itemsuch that the surface of the item having the delivery address, returnaddress, postage and/or label (e.g., a COA label or a nixie label) is inthe camera 406's field of view. The computer of the FFT 400, or theperson, may then activate the camera 406 to make, obtain, or capture adigital image of the UAA item, which the computer may embed withprocessing data.

As noted, the embedded images may be printed (e.g., locally or at aremote location) and sent to mailers as a hard copy (e.g., printed-outembedded image 100) in some embodiments. In other exemplary embodiments,the embedded images may be sent electronically to mailers. Either way,the captured image shows the relevant delivery item and the processingdata in the embedded images notifies the mailers of the delivery items'UAA status and/or COA status, and of any addition payment for furtherprocessing the delivery item (e.g. for forwarding), and the like.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a system that can be used inprocessing undeliverable (UAA) delivery items according to one exemplaryembodiment, where dashed arrows schematically show the flow of data andsolid arrows show the physical movement of delivery items, such as mailpieces 202, 208. As shown, the system 500 includes a Delivery SchemelessSortation (DSS) or Advanced Computing Environment (ACE) workstation 502,which generates an initial label for a delivery item at the deliveryunit (DU) using a Remote Forwarding System (RFS) web and a database. Asshown, the labelled mail pieces are routed via truck to a FactoryControl System (FCS) workstation (WS) 504 that includes a computerizedworkstation, such as the FFT 400 with a camera 406 for secondaryprocessing, namely, an image lift operation (e.g., operation 304) anddata embedding (e.g., operation 306) using a Computerized ForwardingSystem (CFS) and an FCS database (e.g., the contains processing data foreach mail piece). The FCS WS 504 may also complete label generation forthe delivery item. Once processed at FCS WS 504, e.g., as described withrespect to FIG. 2 (e.g., UAA mail processing 210) and 3 above, the mailpiece is sent into the conventional mail stream 506 (e.g., for return tosender or forwarding to a change of address) or to trash (wastedisposal) 508. In certain instances, the mail pieces are transferredfrom FCS or Mail Forwarding System (MFS) WS 510 to FCS WS 504. FCS/MFSWS 510 lacks a camera and generates an initial label at CFS using theFCS database.

As shown, data generated at the DSS or ACE workstation 502 for a givenmail piece (e.g., processing data) is transmitted to the RFS database512 and then to the APES database 514 and the FCS database 516. Data(e.g., processing data) from the FCS WS 510 is also transmitted to theFCS database 516. As also shown, embedded TIFF images of the UAA mailpieces are transmitted from the FCS WS 504, which includes FFT 400, tothe FCS database 516 and data from local CFSs/MFSs or remote DUs istransmitted from the FCS database 516 to the FCS WS 504. In theembodiment shown, the embedded TIFF images of UAA mail pieces may betransferred from the FCS database 516 to a print server 518. Theembedded TIFF images of UAA mail pieces are printed at print server 518as hard copies, which are sent (e.g., mailed) to the mailers of each UAAmail piece. In some other embodiments, the embedded TIFF images mayalternatively be sent electronically to the mailers.

While the foregoing disclosure has been described in some detail by wayof illustration and example for purposes of clarity and understanding,it will be clear to one of ordinary skill in the art from a reading ofthis disclosure that various changes in form and detail can be madewithout departing from the true scope of the disclosure and may bepracticed within the scope of the appended claims. For example, all themethods, computer readable media, delivery item processing systems,and/or component parts or other aspects thereof can be used in variouscombinations. All patents, patent applications, websites, otherpublications or documents, and the like cited herein are incorporated byreference in their entirety for all purposes to the same extent as ifeach individual item were specifically and individually indicated to beso incorporated by reference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A processing system, comprising: (a) a camerathat is arranged to capture an image of a delivery item; and (b) ahardware processor that is operably connected to the camera and that isconfigured to perform operations comprising: capturing, using thecamera, an image of a delivery item that is undeliverable to an intendedrecipient or at an intended delivery location, where the image includesan address of the intended recipient; embedding, by the hardwareprocessor, processing data with the image of the delivery item tothereby generate an embedded image as a printable file, the embeddedimage including the image of the delivery item framed by a template areathat includes a reason for the delivery item being undeliverable; andnotifying a sender of the delivery item, via a hard copy printout of theembedded image, that the delivery item is undeliverable.
 2. Theprocessing system of claim 1, wherein capturing, using the camera, theimage of the delivery item that is undeliverable comprises activatingthe camera after the delivery item is manually positioned to face thecamera.
 3. The processing system of claim 1, wherein the processing datacomprises one of temporary delivery location information or updateddelivery location information included in the template area.
 4. Theprocessing system of claim 1, further comprising electronicallytransmitting the embedded image to the sender.
 5. The processing systemof claim 1, further comprising: a printer that is operably connected tothe hardware processor; and wherein the operations further comprise:printing, by the printer, the printable file to generate the hard copyprintout of the embedded image.
 6. The processing system of claim 1,wherein the operations further comprise identifying that the deliveryitem is undeliverable as addressed.
 7. The processing system of claim 6,wherein the identifying that the delivery item is undeliverable asaddressed further comprises identifying that an address on the deliveryitem is erroneous.
 8. A computer-readable, non-transitory storage mediumstoring instructions that, when executed by a hardware processor of acomputing system, cause the hardware processor to execute a method ofprocessing a delivery item, the method comprising: capturing an image ofa delivery item received from a camera that is operably connected to thecomputing system, wherein the delivery item is at least one ofundeliverable to an intended recipient or undeliverable at an intendeddelivery location, where the image includes an address of the intendedrecipient; embedding, by the hardware processor, processing data withthe image of the delivery item to thereby generate an embedded image asa printable file, the embedded image including the image of the deliveryitem framed by a template area that includes a reason for the deliveryitem being undeliverable; and notifying a sender of the delivery item,via a hard copy printout of the embedded image, that the delivery itemis undeliverable.
 9. The computer-readable, non-transitory storagemedium of claim 8, wherein the capturing the image of the delivery itemreceived from the camera comprises activating the camera after thedelivery item is manually positioned to face the camera.
 10. Thecomputer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 8, wherein themethod further comprises printing the printable file via a printer thatis operably connected to the hardware processor to generate the hardcopy printout of the embedded image.
 11. The computer-readable,non-transitory storage medium of claim 8, wherein the method furthercomprises electronically transmitting the embedded image to the sender.12. The computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium of claim 11,wherein the processing data comprises one of temporary delivery locationinformation or updated delivery location information included in thetemplate area.
 13. A method of processing a delivery item using aprocessing station comprising a computer and a camera that is operablyconnected to the computer, the method comprising: capturing an image ofthe delivery item with the camera, wherein the delivery item is at leastone of undeliverable to an intended recipient or undeliverable at anintended delivery location; embedding, by the computer, processing datawith the image of the delivery item to thereby generate an embeddedimage as a printable file, the embedded image including the image of thedelivery item framed by a template area that includes a reason for thedelivery item being undeliverable; notifying a sender of the deliveryitem, via a hard copy printout of the embedded image, that the deliveryitem is undeliverable; and directing the delivery item to an alternativelocation other than the intended delivery location.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the capturing the image of the delivery item with thecamera comprises activating the camera after the delivery item ismanually positioned to face the camera.
 15. The method of claim 13,further comprising identifying that the delivery item is undeliverableas addressed.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the identifying thatthe delivery item is undeliverable as addressed comprises identifyingthat an address on the delivery item is erroneous.
 17. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the identifying that the delivery item isundeliverable as addressed comprises determining that the image of thedelivery item includes erroneous information about at least one of theintended recipient or the intended delivery location.
 18. The method ofclaim 13, further comprising printing the printable file to therebygenerate the hard copy printout of the embedded image.
 19. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the alternative location comprises a location from agroup consisting of: a waste location, a temporary delivery location, oran updated delivery location.
 20. The method of claim 19, furthercomprising notifying the sender of the temporary delivery location orthe updated delivery location.